Michael Arndt

Whether he was writing scripts for an offbeat independent comedy or a big-budgeted animated film, Michael Arndt always created timeless stories and multidimensional characters that stayed with viewers...
Read More...

Getty Images/Anthony Harvey
Since Gwendoline Christie joined the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII back in June, rumors have leaked that Brienne of Tarth will be going over to the Dark Side. According to Badass Digest, Christie will play an imperial Commander – specifically, the commanding officer who hunts down John Boyega’s character after he deserts his post. But as exciting as the idea of Christie playing the antagonist is, there’s a bit more to this rumor, as the site also posits that her role was originally written for a man.
Send your minds back several months, when casting announcements for the film were just a distant hope and every actor in Hollywood was reportedly in talks for the role. Around that time, Benedict Cumberbatch was one of the names being thrown around for a part, and as Badass Digest says, he was in talks to play an Imperial Officer. According to one of their sources, a major role in the film was re-written from male to female, all of which leads them to believe that Christie’s role is indeed the one that has been gender swapped.
It might just be a rumor, but it’s an exciting one, and outlets and fans have already shown support for director J.J. Abrams’ decision to make such a progressive change to the Star Wars universe. Casting a woman as an authoritative villain isn’t unheard of, but it is rare, and giving the role to someone like Christie over an actor like Cumberbatch is an interesting, unexpected twist on the typical sci-fi archetypes. It’s always a big deal when major blockbusters have better roles for female character than just being the films’ eye candy or damsel in distress, but to have Abrams make such a significant change to this particular universe also helps modernize things a bit. The original films might have had a strong female character in Leia, but she was the only prominent female character; by contrast, Episode VII seems to be lining up several complex, surprising roles for their actresses, including Lupita Nyong’o’s rumored Sith and Daisy Ridley’s alleged Jedi knight.
Whether we like it or not, roles like an Imperial Commander are generally thought of as male ones, and so casting Christie in such a role subverts the typical expectations that the role would be played by the standard “British white guy” that has become the go-to type for blockbuster villains. It opens the door for more women to take on roles like that, ones that we might subconsciously consider to be a manly character, which in turn opens the door for more Hollywood blockbusters and sci-fi projects to diversify their cast lists a bit.
But even though we might automatically consider an Imperial Commander to be a man, it might not have be written that way in the first place. There’s nothing in the character description to suggest that it wasn’t a gender-neutral role all along. It’s entirely possible that the script has always called for a woman to play the part, especially since Cumberbatch was in talks for the film back when they were using a script from Michael Arndt. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan have since taken over as writers, so it’s entirely possible that this Imperial Commander is a completely different one than the character that Cumberbatch was up for.
Still, even if the role was meant for Christie all along, it’s hard not to get excited about seeing such a talented actress get a prominent, compelling role. Her performance as Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones has proven that she can be both compelling and compassionate, both of which will likely come into play in her Star Wars role. In fact, she might even be better suited to this role than Cumberbatch would have been, as she has a great deal of experience portraying a character that is often authoritative and intimidating. Whether or not the Imperial Commander role was written for her, it’s hard to imagine anyone, male or female, who could do a better job with it than Christie could.
Besides, if she’s half as good with a light saber as she is with a sword, she’ll have no trouble keeping the entire galaxy in line.
Follow @hollywood_com
//
Follow @julesemm
//

Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
Follow @Michael Arbeiter
//
| Follow @Hollywood_com
//

Director J.J. Abrams is taking over screenwriting duties on the forthcoming Star Wars sequel following the departure of movie scribe Michael Arndt. No official reason has been given for Arndt's exit from the highly-anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII project, but the filmmaker has now recruited Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote 1980's Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, to help him with the storyline.
In a post on StarWars.com, producer and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy writes, "I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script.
"There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a Star Wars story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. J.J. of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production."

20th Century Fox
The biggest question mark of the cinematic horizon is Star Wars: Episode VII. With the capability and artistic intentions of J.J. Abrams already up for debate and the murky promise (or threat) of Original Trilogy stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford looming as cast list potentials, all we need now is a writer to drop out to further stir up the uncertainty about the ultimate quality of our next foray into George Lucas' galaxy. And so it is. The Hollywood Reporter reports that screenwriter Michael Arndt is no longer involved with crafting the script for Episode VII, though no mention is made of why or how his departure came about. Filling in for Arndt on scripting duties will be director Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
On the one hand, the presence of Kasdan glimmer with the OT veneer: Empire is widely considered the strongest of the Star Wars movies, and it might be reassuring to some Lucasfilm purists to have a mind from the glory days on board. But it was that entrenchment to cling so adherently to the mythology and spirit of the originals that resulted in the Prequel Trilogy, a failure by the standards of most hoping for a revisit to the magic born in '77. As such, a talent independent from the Star Wars universe might have been favorable.
Maybe Arndt wasn't quite the right choice. He wrote the screenplays for greats like Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3 — two excellent movies in their own right, but ones that might not showcase his ability to handle a broad, fantastical world like Star Wars. In company with a partner known for this skill, perhaps Arndt's touch for the personal might have worked.
But we're left, instead, with Kasdan and Abrams. The former in position solely on the bounties of "legacy" (not always the best tool to use in rebooting a franchise), and the other amid a slow slip from grace after Star Trek Into Darkness and the more defensible but still sub-par Super 8. Both movies in which he exhibited his preference to put old toys in a glass case for us to look at rather than recreating and reimagining vast, fruitful ideas. So is the decision to bring on Kasdan more of Abrams' ploys to live through his nostalgia, or will Kasdan be able to channel his old stories in a new, inventive way?
Follow @Michael Arbeiter
//
| Follow @Hollywood_com
//

2013 Target Presse Agentur Gmbh
Only a week after Danny Boyle announced he would be shepharding a series to television, another filmmaker known for his eccentric visual style will be joining him. Tom Tykwer, of Cloud Atlas and Run Lola Run, will be adapting the Babylon Berlin series of novels to German television now that his next film has wrapped. Tykwer has been on a string of adaptations lately, from Cloud Atlas, to Dave Eggers' A Hologram for the King with Tom Hanks, and now to Babylon Berlin. The novels follow an Inspector who moves to Berlin in the 1920s, just in time to watch the rise of the Nazi party.
While the show obviously deals with difficult history, the overall move towards WWII will be slow, as the Inspector spends most of his time solving local crime as overall social and political changes happen around him. While there's more than enough detective procedurals out there, the regional and cultural specificity will hopefully distinguish Babylon Berlin from the pack. Tykwer's fellow producer, Stefan Arndt, hopes to imbue the series with a real sense of time and place: "We are aiming artistically and narratively for the top end of what is possible in German television [...] Berlin has such magnetic appeal internationally and so many people have been coming here in recent years that they want to see the city as it really was."
Now more than ever, there's exciting television happening overseas, and hopefully the series will quickly (and legally) make its way over to our shores before some American cable network announces a remake.
Follow @Hollywood_com
Follow @kaylaahawkins
//

FameFlynet
We all know J.J. Abrams has a repertory company of actors who keep popping up in his work: Simon Pegg, Keri Russell, Greg Grunberg. But now Benedict Cumberbatch may be set to join that group. Star Trek Into Darkness' erstwhile Khan is rumored to be in the running for a role in Abrams' upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII, according to the website Film Chronicles. Admittedly, the source here is murky, and Lucasfilm is neither confirming nor denying the news — "no comment" is the preferred response of the House that George Built for any such rumors. But given Abrams' proclivity for repeat casting, it seems a definite possibility.
If this report turns out to be true, we can muster only one response — screw you, J.J. Abrams. Cumberbatch did his best as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness, but you gave him an impossible challenge: to live up to the standard of Ricardo Montalban. Obviously, it didn't work, as Trekkers recently voted Into Darkness the worst Trek film of them all. (And here are 12 reasons why we agree.) If Cumberbatch will indeed play a character in Episode VII, it's going to be hard for me, and a lot of other fans, to avoid dwelling on Into Darkness connotations. That's not something Cumberbatch will have to worry about in any of his upcoming other projects like 12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate, and August: Osage County, but it will be everpresent in J.J.'s Galaxy Far, Far Away feature.
Lucasfilm and Disney obviously want Episode VII to be a fresh take on the saga. That's why they brought in screenwriter Michael Arndt, as well as Abrams himself. But Abrams seems like he wants to replicate what he did on the Trek films with Wars — he's already brought in his DP on Into Darkness to shoot the new film. Cumberbatch's casting will feel like he's deliberately retreading what he did in Trek. And I know some fans will quibble and say that was George Lucas' thinking when he originally decided against having Harrison Ford play Indiana Jones. But Dr. Jones came off Ford's universally beloved turn as Han Solo. We can't say the same for Cumberbatch as Khan.
Am I just a fan throwing a hissy fit or do you also object to the idea of Cumberbatch in Jedi robes? Khaaaaaaaaan!
Follow @ctblauvelt
//
Follow @Hollywood_com
//
More: Alex Pettyfer &amp; Rachel Hurd-Wood Considered for ‘Star Wars Episode VII’ Seven of the Craziest ‘Star Wars’ Rumors Ever ‘Star Wars: Crucible’ Author on Han, Luke, &amp; Leia’s Passing of the Torch
From Our Partners:A Complete History Of Twerking (1993-2013) (Vh1)15 Stars Share Secrets of their Sex Lives (Celebuzz)

Tom Cruise is the biggest star on the planet, yet his greatest strength is a willingness to take a back seat to a director's vision. In Oblivion, the actor dials back his usual heroism to play pensive wanderer Jack, a technician preparing to return to the rest of civilization that recently vacated a post-apocalyptic version of Earth. After aliens destroyed our planet's moon, humans nuked the crap out of them before heading to Saturn. Jack helps harvest remaining sea water of Earth, used as fuel on the new planet, and with only days left, he dreams of the past — memories he, theoretically, should not have.
That's some serious plot. Cruise wisely goes along for the ride, leaving most of the work to director Joe Kosinski (Tron Legacy), who's just as caught up with the fluid motions of his futuristic vehicles and decimated metropolis landscapes as he is with Jack's emotional roller coaster ride. Kosinski, working off a screenplay he wrote with Karl Gajdusek (Last Resort) and Michael Arndt (Star Wars VII), picks and chooses an array of sci-fi concepts to stuff into the movie, making Oblivion a wholly original story where every moment feels familiar. Luckily, Kosinski is a master patch worker. He sweeps slowly over every landscape like he's shooting a nature film, with a fetishism over the operation of every piece of technology so we understand how it works, takes us through the daily operations of Jack and his Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) step by step so we're drowning in the monotony of their jobs. It's a slow build and Kosinski, unlike so many genre movies we see today, demands we see the work he's put into building the world of Oblivion. And it's satisfying.
Cruise makes for the perfect surrogate on Jack's observational journey. Like War of the Worlds, he can sell the blue collar worker going through the motions of flying his Mac-inspired spaceship to fix broken drone bots and he can sell the action that amps up as he uncovers the truth about his existence. Jack is never confident, and the emergence of a mysterious human visitor, Julia (Olga Kurylenko), or the leader of a subterranean resistance group (enhanced by the gravitas of Morgan Freeman), make him draw back further into his head. Kosinski twists and turns and forces Cruise back into his own head and it subverts our expectations of a public figure we still imagine jumping up and down on Oprah's couch.
There's an epic quality to Oblivion that Kosinski embraces too casually. It misses out on greatness by never finding an emotional hook and letting the score by electronica artist M83 do the talking. While Victoria and Jack's relationship is meant to be cold ("We are still an effective team," Victoria tells her literal higher ups each morning), there's little personality in the world around them — especially in the overcompensating soundtrack. It's a Tron Legacy rehash, blaring horns and pounding drums burying Cruise's hushed work. By the end, when Jack rises up to hero status, it feels more like an excuse to match the soundscape than the next step of his evolution.
Oblivion is the definition of style over substance, but Kosinski delivers on the eye candy. He and Cruise give the story and characters just enough weight that they're worth following through the multi-million dollar screensaver world — a spectacle that must be seen on IMAX. Dense with backstory, Oblivion is the type of movie that won't survive scrutiny, and that's half the fun. It'll mesmerize in the moment and spur debate, fury, and plenty of questions on the walk to the car.
3.5/5
What do you think? Tell Matt Patches directly on Twitter @misterpatches and read more of his reviews on Rotten Tomatoes!
More: 'Oblivion': Tom Cruise's Post-apocalyptic Future Is Appropriately GlossyTom Cruise Only Gets Hurt Handsomely And Here Are 7 Pics To Prove ItThe Beginning of Tom Cruise's 'Oblivion' Looks Like the End of 'Planet of the Apes'
From Our Partners:Eva Longoria Bikinis on Spring Break (Celebuzz)33 Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (Celebuzz)

The circle may soon be complete.
When we last saw Luke Skywalker, he was but the learner. Now, it’s looking more and more like we’ll see him as the master. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Mark Hamill reveals that he’s been having discussions with Lucasfilm about the new Star Wars movies slated for 2015 and beyond and has meetings set with writer Michael Arndt and studio president Kathleen Kennedy. Not to mention that his conversations with George Lucas indicate that Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia may very well be a part of the new movies—but only if the original actors want to resume their famous roles.
RELATED: Star Wars Expanded Universe Authors Tell How to Make the Best Episode VII
"George wanted to know whether we'd be interested,” Hamill said. “He did say that if we didn't want to do it, they wouldn't cast another actor in our parts – they would write us out. I can tell you right away that we haven't signed any contracts. We're in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings set that were postponed – on their end, not mine. They're more busy than I am."
It doesn’t sound like Hamill’s been clued in on any plot points or storylines regarding the new films, but he does have some guesses about what might happen. “I'm assuming, because I haven't talked to the writers, that these movies would be about our offspring – like my character would be sort of in the Obi-Wan range [as] an influential character.” When he found out that Leia was actually his sister, thus meaning that Luke wouldn’t have a love interest after all, he says he thought, “'Well, I'm going to wind up like Sir Alec [Guinness]. I'm going to be a lonely old hermit living out in some kind of desert igloo with a couple of robots.'"
RELATED: John Williams Wants to Return to ‘Star Wars’
Of course, in the Expanded Universe of Star Wars publishing that’s explored the timeline up to about forty years after the events of Return of the Jedi, Luke does get his love interest: fiery Imperial assassin turned Jedi Master Mara Jade. They eventually marry and the result is a son, young Ben Skywalker, meaning that the foundation is already there for a “passing of the lightsaber” scenario. If we consider that the Star Wars galaxy has progressed at the same pace as our universe, then the 30 years out from Return of the Jedi that we are would place Luke right after the events of the harrowing New Jedi Order novel series in which our heroes faced fearsome extragalactic alien invaders, the Yuuzhan Vong. But that part of the timeline is pretty well mapped out, and Lucasfilm has said that the new movies will be based on an original story. That means either they’re erasing established canon…or pushing the setting of Episode VII back further to at least forty years after Return of the Jedi, where the timeline, as its been explored so far, comes to an abrupt end.
RELATED: Timothy Zahn on Young Han Solo Movie and Hopes for an X-Wing TV Series
It’s hard to imagine a scenario, though, where Lucasfilm wants Hamill to return and he turns them down, thus forcing them to write an offscreen death for Luke. When I spoke to him for EW.com he said he always wished he could wield the lightsaber at least one more time. “It was with mixed feelings that I left the series, because, even though it had a beginning, a middle, and an end, I had only just become a Jedi when it finished,” he said. “It’d be like telling the story of how James Bond becomes a Double-0 agent, yet the story ends as soon as he gets his license to kill. Part of me always longed to do just one more film and see what Luke would be like now that he’s on the level of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the student having become the master. But it was not meant to be.”
Maybe it will be “meant to be” after all.
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credit: Wenn]
From Our Partners:'Groundhog Day' Cast: Where Are They Now? (Moviefone)40 Most Revealing See-Through Red Carpet Looks (Vh1)

One of the first things diehard Star Wars fans thought when news broke that a new trilogy set after Return of the Jedi will be made was this: "What will Episodes VII, VIII, and IX mean for the Expanded Universe?"
The timeline after the destruction of the second Death Star and the deaths of Darth Vader and the Emperor has already been heavily explored. Dozens of novels since 1991's Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn have furthered the saga, showing us how the Rebel Alliance became the New Republic — not to mention the marriage of Princess Leia and Han Solo, the birth of their three children, Luke Skywalker's efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order, and eventually his own nuptials to feisty Emperor's Hand-turned-Jedi Mara Jade. The events depicted in these novels have always been considered to be canon. But is it a continuity that will be honored by screenwriter Michael Arndt and director J.J. Abrams when Episode VII hits theaters in 2015?
When you talk to the Expanded Universe authors themselves, however, you find that's not something that overly concerns them. They're such big Star Wars fans the biggest issue for them is the fact we have to wait three long years to see the words "A Long Time Ago In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...." on the big screen. And, like any fans, they have some major opinions about what they want to see from the new films. We reached out to eight of the most prominent authors in Star Wars publishing — Drew Karpyshyn, Paul S. Kemp, Troy Denning, John Jackson Miller, James Luceno, Michael Reaves, Christie Golden, and Aaron Allston — and asked them what they hope to see from the new films, what supporting or Expanded Universe characters they'd like to see get a bigger role, and how, if they are indeed fated in these movies to become One with the Force, they would like to see Luke, Han, and Leia die. Here's what each had to say.
Drew Karpyshyn, author of Star Wars: The Old Republic — Annihilation
What I Hope to See from Episodes VII-IX: I'd like to see films that are directed towards an older, more mature audience. It felt like Episodes I-III were directed at children and a generally younger demographic - which is great for bringing in new fans - but as an adult Star Wars fan I'd like to return to the darker, more serious tone of The Empire Strikes Back.
What secondary or Expanded Universe character I'd Like to See Get the Spotlight: Obviously I'd love to see the films explore the Old Republic era; I think there's so much potential there, particularly with a character like Darth Bane. (The fact that I wrote three Darth Bane novels in no way makes me biased!)
RELATED: ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Recap: Bombed the Jedi Temple Is
How I Want to See Luke, Han, or Leia Die: My hope is that they live to ripe old ages before passing away peacefully. I'd prefer to see their role in the later films be more as mentors/advisors in the same way Obi-Wan was in the original trilogy, though I hope they don't all end up having to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. These characters have paid their dues, so as a fan I don't want to see them suffer an untimely or violent death.
Paul Kemp, author of Star Wars: The Old Republic—Deceived
What I Hope to See from Episodes VII-IX: What I really hope to see is love of the underlying subject matter. I think Star Wars is a phenomenon because it’s more than just a space opera or space fantasy (take your pick). It’s a mythic story and touches at something deep in the human experience. It’s built on a foundation of heroic myth and heroic transformation and that’s what makes it so appealing, generation after generation. I’d just like to see the new stories build off that foundation (because it’s a rich one, and there is lots of room for new and wonderful stories, all while hewing to the mythic structure).
What secondary or Expanded Universe character I'd Like to See Get the Spotlight: Hmm. That’s a real toughie so I’m just going to weasel a bit. I’d very much like to see a female Jedi in one of the leading roles. In that regard, Jaina Solo would be excellent, but there are many others to choose from.
RELATED: ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Recap: Darth Sidious Shows Maul Who’s the Master
How I Want to See Luke, Han, or Leia Die: If they have to die, Han and Leia should go out together, wrapped in each other’s arms. “I love you,” he says. She smiles and answers, “I know.” And then it’s lights out. Yeah, that’d work. As for Luke, I think Luke has to go out in a grand, self-sacrificing way, with full knowledge of what he’s doing before he does it, and all in service to the greater good of rebuilding the Jedi Order. Ideally, just before he goes out he’d see the Force ghosts of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin (thus recalling for the viewer/reader the iconic ending of Return of the Jedi), and in dying Luke would take his place among them.
NEXT: Could Episode VII Finally Put a Woman in the Driver's Seat?
Troy Denning, author of Star Wars: Crucible (Out July 9)
What I Hope to See from Episodes VII-IX: This time, I think it would be fun to follow the hero’s journey of a young woman, the way we followed Luke’s journey in Episodes IV – VI. And I want the thrilling lightsaber duels and epic starship battles of Episodes I-III. Give me three films that combine great action with mythic themes, and I’ll be a happy fan.
What secondary or Expanded Universe character I'd Like to See Get the Spotlight: Jaina Solo, without a doubt. Jaina is Han and Leia’s only surviving child, and one of the most capable members of the Jedi Order. She’s emerging as the leader of the next generation, and she’s one of the most popular characters in the novel line. I don’t think there could be a better choice.
RELATED: ‘Star Wars’ Author Timothy Zahn on ‘Young Han Solo’ Movie and Hopes for an ‘X-Wing’ TV Show
How I Want to See Luke, Han, or Leia Die: I’d want to see Luke go fairly early, in an incredible display of Jedi power that saves his companions and/or deals the villain a real setback. And I’d want his sacrifice to become a rallying point for the good guys. I’d want him to become more dangerous to the villain in death than he was in life.
Han and Leia should go out as a team, executing a cunning trick that sets the villain up for a hard fall. I wouldn’t want a lot of on-screen sentimentality, just a sense of courageous self-sacrifice from Leia and, from Han, a smug smirk. But as the final moment comes, I'd want to see them together — holding hands or leaning in for a final kiss — because that's who these characters are, two people in love to the last.
John Jackson Miller, author of the upcoming Star Wars: Kenobi (Out Sept. 24)
What I hope to see from Episodes VII-IX: It's something I've speculated about since I first saw them mentioned in Lucas's Time magazine interview back in 1980. My presumption would be that, obviously, it jumps ahead a generation, matching the gap between the other two trilogies — and I would assume that it takes on the larger themes of the ongoing series: power and temptation. My assumption was always that Luke, not Anakin, was really the "chosen one" who brought "balance to the Force" — but as those lines weren't in the original trilogy, they could also take this opportunity to bookend that section by addressing it anew.
Something delving more into Sith philosophy and why it's attractive would be fun to see. I did a deep dive into Sithiness with my Lost Tribe of the Sith stories — their all-for-me-nothing-for-you views are interesting, as are the challenges with achieving power on a galactic stage. You can see why Palpatine had to hijack an existing government — they're not the most attractive bosses to work with!
I would also hope to see something addressing one of the broader issues that I've attempted to take up in stories in other parts of the timeline (in Knights of the Old Republic and Knight Errant) -- namely, the love-hate relationship between the Jedi and the Republic, which is a far larger organization. The Jedi do a lot for the Republic, yes, but they've also been more trouble than they're worth on more than one occasion. One can imagine the Republic chancellor finally revoking the Jedi Council's parking spaces!
RELATED: ‘Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi—Into the Void’ Cover Art Revealed--EXCLUSIVE
What secondary or Expanded Universe character I'd Like to See Get the Spotlight: From the movies, it'd be a blast to see Lando as Chancellor. The gamblers, smugglers, and criminals have sort of a world of their own, apart from what's going on in the galactic drama between the Jedi and the Sith.
From the Expanded Universe, most of my work has been in the past or distant past, so if we're getting pantheons of blue ghosts, there's a range of folks that would be fun to see, from Arca Jeth to my own Zayne Carrick and Kerra Holt. There are some old villains that could do turns in holographic form, too. And practically every droid from the past has at least a theoretical chance of still being around. If we see a droid that's refusing to do any work, that'd be Elbee from the KOTOR comics. Sitting immobile for 4,000 years would suit him just fine!
How I want to see Luke, Han, or Leia die: I'm certain that I don't want to see that — it's much more fun to imagine them living on. It would be preferable to think that they died while sitting on a beach drinking blue martinis delivered by serving droids — but I imagine that's not very cinematic!
James Luceno, author of Star Wars: Darth Plageuis
What I Hope to See from Episodes VII-IX: A new and perilous threat — of the Sith sort, to be certain that the dark and light sides of Force, as well as lightsabers, are heavily featured.
What secondary or Expanded Universe character I'd Like to See Get the Spotlight: If for whatever reasons the Sith don't figure into the film plots, I would love to see an appearance by the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong, who battled the Jedi through the twenty-one Expanded Universe novels that comprise The New Jedi Order.
How I Want to See Luke, Han, or Leia Die: Luke, with lightsaber in hand, in a blaze of glory; Han, Leia and the Millennium Falcon in an act of heroic sacrifice.
NEXT: The Darker Sides of a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Michael Reaves, co-author of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Out Feb. 26)
What I Hope to See from Episodes VII-IX: The latest estimates for the Milky Way suggest literally billions of Earthlike worlds. With lifeforms like gigantic space slugs that can live in hard vacuum, it's obvious that life in the GFFA is at least as tenacious as it is here, if not more so.
My tendency is to poke around the backwaters and the seedier places of these many and richly varied worlds. There are many other monomyths and archetypes besides the Hero's Journey. One thing I do not want to see is the same storyline with new faces.
What secondary or Expanded Universe character I'd Like to See Get the Spotlight: Hey, I'm not gonna be disingenuous; I'd love for Jax Pavan and I-Five to get a shot.
RELATED: ‘Star Wars’ Yoda Creator Dies: Why His Work Was Cooler Than Any CGI
How I Want to See Luke, Han, or Leia Die: Saving the galaxy. They're heroes, right? So let 'em die heroically.
Christie Golden, author of Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Ascension
What I Hope to See from Episodes VII-IX: Follow-up adventures with Luke, Han and Leia! I would be amenable to seeing new actors in the old roles if Lucasfilm wants to pick up right where Return of the Jedi left off, but the actors would have to be VERY well cast. I'd actually love to see Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford reprise the roles of Luke, Leia and Han...alongside their kids! ;)
What secondary or Expanded Universe character I'd Like to See Get the Spotlight: Vestara Khai. *coughs a little* Okay...Pocket the chitlik. No? Seriously, though, the Skywalker and Solo offspring are such terrific characters in their own right, it would be wonderful to see them brought to life.
How I Want to See Luke, Han, or Leia Die: Oh this question is just cruel! Well...if they HAVE to, Han or Leia would have to die sacrificing him/herself for the other. And I want a "dies in your arms" scene, darn it, if either one has to go. Luke...should die alone, of his own free choice, saving countless lives. It should be set to John Williams' most beautiful music, and I better see Luke become One with the Force pretty much immediately or I will not be responsible for all that Kleenex on the movie theater floor.
Aaron Allston, author of Star Wars: X-Wing—Mercy Kill
What I Hope to See from Episodes VII-IX: Could I see "Screenplay by Aaron Allston"? No?
Well, barring that, I'd like to see the story move away from the Skywalkers, Solos, even the Jedi a bit, reminding us that there are other people doing important things in the galaxy. I'd like to see a greater proportion of female characters. I want to see more spectacle — Tatooine junkyards and bongo interiors aren't exactly challenges for ILM's skills. And I hope to see a return to the lightheartedness and humor of A New Hope, putting the fatalism of the prequels behind us.
RELATED: ‘Star Wars’ Author Timothy Zahn on His Han Solo/‘Ocean’s 11’ Hybrid ‘Scoundrels’
What secondary or Expanded Universe character I'd Like to See Get the Spotlight: This kind of depends on exactly when in the timeline Episodes VII through IX take place. Timothy Zahn's Mara Jade would always be a good choice. The next-generation Solos and Skywalkers, such as Jaina Solo and Ben Skywalker, would be welcome. If any sort of espionage is in the offing, some sort of nod to my own Wraith Squadron characters would be a thrill for me.
But what I really hope to see most is any sort of appearance by recognizable EU characters, which would be an acknowledgement that the EU is a significant part of what constitutes Star Wars.
How I Want to See Luke, Han, or Leia Die: You know, I actually don't want to see them die in the movies, and it's not just because of affection for the characters.
Action movie characters live pretty tortured lives. There's no chance of them appearing on-screen for 90 minutes of shopping or gossip, so any time we put them in front of the camera, it's for punishment. At a certain point, we recognize there's no way they can keep doing this and survive, so we kill them, an act so common and callous we don't even refer to it as killing them — it's "killing them off." Ellen Ripley. Bernard Quatermass. Hoban "Wash" Washburne. Sometimes characters die because their portrayers can only show up for one or two day's filming, and the director and producer decide to maximize those three minutes of screen time by whacking the character.
Me, I'm all for having Luke, Leia, and Han be in a scene showing them knocking back shots of Corellian brandy while playing cards. Then the screen can go through a 1940s-style wipe and the camera can zoom in on their descendants saving the galaxy for a new generation.
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credit: LucasBooks (5)]
From Our Partners:
'SI's 25 Sexiest Swimsuit Covers of All Time (Vh1)
Pregnant Kate Middleton Bikini Pics Spark Palace Anger (Celebuzz)

The Death Star is totally becoming a big red ball, isn't it? And just imagine the lens flares that'll result from Tatooine's twin suns!
Now that J.J. Abrams has all but officially been confirmed to be the director of Star Wars Episode VII — Lucas' son Jett tweeted that Abrams "will do wonders" so it must be true! — fan speculation is reaching a fever pitch about what he'll bring to the franchise. Oh, and inspiring a lot of jokes too. (Get Greg Grunberg in a suit of stormtrooper armor, stat!) And suddenly casting into doubt the future of the reborn Star Trek franchise, if Abrams really does choose to swap the 23rd century for a Galaxy Far, Far Away after his next film Star Trek Into Darkness. But the thing fans seem to be forgetting amidst all the speculating, rumormongering, and joke-telling is this: Abrams is perfect for the job.
It's in Abrams pedigree, for one. Alias and Lost have more Star Wars references than there's sand on Tatooine. Abrams even imagined Lost's roguish castaway Sawyer as a version of Han Solo. A life-long fan of George Lucas' universe, it was only with some reluctance that he took on 2009's Star Trek. Quite simply, he never had the emotional relationship to Star Trek that he has to Star Wars, and he depended heavily on über Trek fans Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof for guidance on that project. You could even argue that his Star Trek has a lot more to do with Star Wars than it ever did with classic Trek. It's all about archetypal themes with mythological heft — Kirk trying to establish himself in relation to his father's legacy — Star Trek transformed from a heady inquiry of moral and scientific quandaries into propulsive good vs. evil pop. It's slick, technological blam-blam filmmaking.
But far from being a watered down Trek, Abrams brought Gene Roddenberry's vision out of the geek ghetto and imbued it with universal emotional resonance. His Star Trek, like his TV work on Alias and Lost, is about strangers thrown together and forced to become a surrogate family while facing impossible odds and dire threats. Isn't that the thematic core of Star Wars? A young farm boy goes on a starry-eyed quest with an old man to rescue a princess from insensate evil and discovers he's the heir to a legacy he never even knew about. At heart, that's also the kind of story Episode VII screenwriter Michael Arndt told in Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3.
Someone else will end up steering the revived Star Trek franchise after Star Trek Into Darkness is released. It's survived across multiple media for 47 years and it will endure. But now Abrams will get to apply his storytelling skills to the largest canvas yet. Will he be absorbed into that Galaxy Far, Far Away and lose his own distinctiveness? It's actually an irrelevant question. Though he faces a no-win scenario with Star Wars greater than any Kobiyashi Maru test — how will we possibly satisfy all the fans? — fans of Lucas' universe should recognize that one of their own has inherited the mantle of their beloved franchise.
Do you feel the lightsaber has been passed to the right person?
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credit: Lucasfilm]
More:
J.J. Abrams Directing Next 'Star Wars' Movie — REPORT
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars': Savage Opress Attacks Mandalore — EXCLUSIVE CLIP
You Might Also Like:
Manti Te’O Comes Clean About Girlfriend Hoax
100 Hottest Women of the Century: PICS

Title

Made screenwriting debut with "Little Miss Sunshine," about a dysfunctional family determined to get their young daughter into beauty pageant finals; film premiered at Sundance; earned Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay

Wrote screenplay for animated feature "Toy Story 3," featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen

Summary

Whether he was writing scripts for an offbeat independent comedy or a big-budgeted animated film, Michael Arndt always created timeless stories and multidimensional characters that stayed with viewers long after they have left theaters. Arndt first gained acclaim for his Academy Award-winning comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006), a witty, modern take on the family road trip story that sparkled with humor and heart. After making waves in independent cinema, Arndt penned the script for the highly anticipated sequel, "Toy Story 3" (2010), one of the world's most celebrated animated film franchises. Following his script work on the sci-fi thriller, "Oblivion" (2013) starring Tom Cruise, Arndt was catapulted into the upper echelons of Hollywood screenwriters when he was chosen to write "Star Wars: Episode VII" (2015) after George Lucas made news for selling his franchise to Walt Disney Studios. For infusing both life and depth into his film's characters Arndt showcased his versatility, and emerged as one of Hollywood's most successful and original storytellers.